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Driving refresher workshops are now available free of charge for senior drivers in Powys, the county council has announced.

Powys County CouncilMature Motoring workshops are two-hour informal courses developed and delivered by Powys County Council’s Road Safety Unit, thanks to Welsh Government funding. The workshops are aimed at drivers aged 65 years and older.

The workshops focus on issues such as driving licence requirements, the effects of medication, personal safety while driving, winter driving, the dangers of drink driving and not wearing seatbelts.

Motorcyclists in Powys have the opportunity to become safer riders thanks to a series of road safety initiatives that are now available.

Powys County Council’s Road Safety Unit has a number of initiatives to help motorcyclists ride safely, thanks to funding from the Welsh Government.

The first initiative is called ‘Ride On’ – a one-day motorcycle course designed to give motorcyclists an introduction to advanced motorcycling. It consists of an informal theory session followed by an assessment ride out, which is captured on the tutors’ bike mounted camera.

Some 88 motorists were found to be exceeding the 20mph speed limit outside a Carmarthenshire school during a recent week-long road safety campaign. The joint Road Safety Partnership campaign was held outside Llechyfedach School, Upper Tumble from 11-15 January.

The campaign was run by Carmarthenshire Roads Policing Unit, GoSafe Safety Camera Partnership and Cross Hands Neighbourhood Policing Team, who spent the week outside the school at key times. Officers provided a visible presence outside the school and carried out preventative measures along with enforcement and education to motorists.

Carmarthenshire Roads Policing Sergeant Ian Price said: “This was a successful operation focussing on casualty reduction where road safety issues were dealt with positively providing the community and parents with confidence that school children of the area can walk to and from school safer in the knowledge that positive action has been taken to educate motorists. Similar campaigns are planned within Carmarthenshire over the next few weeks.”

Personal transporters, such as the Segway Personal Transporter are powered by electricity and transport a passenger standing on a platform propelled on two or more wheels. They are capable of speeds up to 12 mph.

Under current legislation, the Department for Transport considers Segway Personal Transporters as motor vehicles, subject to road traffic laws. Hoverboards are in essence a Segway without the central column and handle. As they are considered motor vehicles, those riding them will be subject to Road Traffic Law.

So that you can stay safe and legal, please take a look at the factsheet below created by the Dyfed Powys Neighbourhood Development Hub. School Community Police Officer Teams will be distributing the factsheet to all schools and educational establishments in Wales.

If you find yourself driving in snow or on icy or snow covered roads, adapt your driving to the conditions:

Reduce your speed. The chances of skidding are much greater and your stopping distance will increase massively.

Only travel at a speed at which you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear. Speed limits are the maximum in ideal conditions; in difficult conditions, they can often be too fast.

Avoid harsh braking and acceleration, or sharp steering.

Always reduce your speed smoothly and in plenty of time on slippery surfaces.

Slow down in plenty of time before bends and corners.

Braking on an icy or snow covered bend is extremely dangerous. The centrifugal force will continue to pull you outwards and the wheels will not grip very well. This could cause your vehicle to spin.

To brake on ice and snow without locking your wheels, get into a low gear earlier than normal, allow your speed to fall and use your brakes gently.

Increase the gap between you and the vehicle in front. You may need up to TEN TIMES the normal distance for braking.

Keep your vehicle well-ventilated. The car heater turned up fully can quickly make you drowsy.

In snow, stop frequently to clean the windows, wheel arches, lights and number plates.

Visibility will probably be reduced, so use dipped headlights.

During wintry weather, road surfaces are often wet and/or covered in frost and ice or snow. But this does not occur uniformly. A road will often have isolated patches of frost or ice after most of the road has thawed – this commonly occurs under bridges, in shaded areas and on exposed bridges.

Be aware of ice even on gritted roads, although the road has been treated the road is unlikely to be wholly free of ice.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has hailed a new law passed in Northern Ireland that will help young drivers to be safer on the country’s roads.

The family safety charity has welcomed the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, which will come into force in 2018 and includes tougher drink-drive limits, a minimum six-month learning period, night-time restrictions on young drivers carrying passengers, and will enable learners to drive on the motorway.

It has long been recognised that alcohol impairs a driver’s ability and the bill will provide for two new lower drink-driving limits – 50mg/100ml for all drivers (as is the case now in Scotland) and 20mg/100ml for novice and professional drivers.

Inspector Gary Jones of Dyfed Powys Police shares his Winter Driving tips - We have all experienced heavy rainfall over the last few weeks, which is expected to continue for the rest of this week. Please see following advice:

Members of Road Safety Wales are reminding pedestrians, runners and cyclists that being easily seen by drivers is especially important at this time of year.

Although the UK has one of the best road safety records in the world,* sadly 249 pedestrians and 138 cyclists were killed or seriously injured on Welsh roads in 2014**. Everyone needs to play their part in keeping themselves and others safe.

With the fashion for black and dark clothes, it can be difficult to buy a coat that is light in colour, but simple things such as carrying a white carrier bag could make all the difference to your visibility. If you prefer your safety equipment a little more high tech then it is possible to buy flashing light armbands, bag accessories and children’s shoes.

The four Welsh Forces in collaboration with Road Safety Wales partners have carried out an enforcement and engagement campaign aimed at young adult drivers and passengers.

The aim of the campaign is to highlight the driving risks to young adults under the Fatal 5 banner, such as driving whilst impaired and using mobile phones behind the wheel. Passengers were also asked to look at their own behaviour within a vehicle environment – from peer pressure and distraction to thinking about whether they should get into a car with a driver who is impaired.

During the campaign, over 300 young adults came to the attention of the police with 193 drivers found to have committed offences (including speeding, anti-social driving/riding and use of mobile phones) with 68 given verbal warnings.